The Tea House

165 Racecourse Road, Riccarton Park, Christchurch

The Tea House, Riccarton was the recipient of a 2009 Canterbury Architecture Award organised and run by the New Zealand Institute of Architects and supported by Resene.. Copyright: New Zealand Institute of Architects. Date: 30/07/2009.

List Entry Information

Locationopen/close

City/District Council

Christchurch City

Region

Canterbury Region

Legal description

Lot 1 DP 82663 (CT CB47C/254), Canterbury Land District

Summaryopen/close

This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. The following text is from the original Proposal for Classification report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration.

Built 1903.

Designed by Luttrell Brothers, it is a large scale Edwardian tea house of unusual design with considerable landscape significance. It has been a focal point of the Riccarton Race Course since 1903.

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Construction Professionalsopen/close

Luttrell, Alfred Edgar And Edward Sidney

Alfred (1865-1924) and Sidney (1872-1932) Luttrell established one of New Zealand's foremost Edwardian architectural practices when they arrived in Christchurch in 1902. The brothers had left Australia on the eve of Federation to pursue a more rewarding career in New Zealand.

Alfred had been based in Launceston, Tasmania, where he had been the apprentice of Harry Conway. In 1886 he stared his own firm.

His younger brother into partnership in 1897. The two men assumed different responsibilities within the firm, with Alfred acting as the principal designer and engineer while Sidney co-ordinated building programmes and dealt with clients. Sidney served his apprenticeship whit his brother, and in 1897 they became partners of A. & S. Luttrell. By 1902 they had established themselves in New Zealand, where they were known as S. & A. Luttrell

The Luttrells ran their own contracting firm for many years, designing a wide variety of building types throughout the country. They were the unofficial Diocesan architects for the Roman Catholic Church in Christchurch during the second decade of the twentieth century.

Their chief contribution to New Zealand architecture was in the introduction of the Chicago "skyscraper" style, as seen in the New Zealand Express Company buildings in Christchurch (1905-7) and Dunedin (1908-10). Alfred's habitual use of concrete construction, both mass and reinforced, is another significant feature of his work. The grandstands at Trentham racecourse are his most important work in reinforced concrete, and reveal Sidney's close involvement with the racing world, which led to numerous commissions for the firm.

Additional informationopen/close

Construction Dates

Original Construction1903 -

Completion Date

2nd August 1991

Report Written By

Mary O'Keeffe

Other Information

NZIA Local Architecture Award Winners 2009, Category: Heritage

A copy of the original report is available from the NZHPT Southern region office

Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.